Device for cutting a line of striations across strip material



June 19, 1956 D. J. PARMER 2,751,005

DEVICE FOR CUTTING A LINE} OF STRIATIONS ACROSS STRIP MATERIAL Filed Sept. 11, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR June 19, 1956 D, PARMER 2,751,005

DEVICE FOR CUTTING A LINE OF STRIATIONS ACROSS STRIP MATERIAL Filed Sept. 11, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I a 7 0 e 2 7 0 1 4+ I 2 E51 I y"2j""2% 2 M g IN VENTOR United States Patent F DEVICE FOR CUTTING A LINE OF STRIATIONS ACROSS STRIP MATERIAL Delphiu J. Parmer, Quincy, F la.

Application September 11, 1952, Serial No. 309,063

Claims. (Cl. 164-42) My invention is a novel scoring attachment for use with a package-wrapping cellophane machine, the attachment being driven thereby in synchronism with the cutting knife of the machine, which knife severs the strip cellophane into lengths suitable for wrapping individual packages. The cellophane machine itself is of standard design and forms no part of the present invention.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a cellophane scoring attachment carrying an opposed die and anvil arrangement between which the strip cellophane passes, the anvil being fixed to the frame of the attachment and the die being connected to a suitable operating linkage which causes the die to clamp against the anvil and transversely mark the strip cellophane with a series of striations which cut into the surface of the cellophane but do not extend all the way therethrough. These striations weaken the cellophane along a line extending transversely of the strip so that after the cellophane wrapper has been applied to the package, the purchaser thereof can easily remove the cellophane wrapper by merely grasping both ends and pulling the ends apart, the cellophane parting along the weakened or scored line of striations which extends all the way around the package.

Another important object of my invention is to provide a scoring device of the character specified which may be attached to an already existing cellophane machine and which may be driven thereby so that before the cellophane strip reaches the knives which cut the strip into discrete, package-wrapping lengths my novel scorer will mark one line of transverse striations for each of said discrete lengths.

Still another important object of my invention is to provide a pair of jaws, one of which receives the anvil and supports the latter in scoring position opposite the other jaw which supports the die. The engagement between the respective jaws and the die and anvil is secured by means of set screws so that the die and anvil, respectively,

may be adjusted with reference to each other to insure uniform depth of scoring along the line of contact therebetween.

Another object of my invention is to provide a scoring attachment including the aforementioned operating linkage, which linkage and jaws are mounted on the frame of the device in such a way that the linkage and jaws may be longitudinally positioned with respect to the cellophane strip so as to determine the point on the package wrapper at which the striations will occur.

Another very important object of my invention is to provide a tension spring between said jaws, which spring normally urges the jaws together. The jaws are normally held apart by cam meansoperated by said linkage, but at a certain position of the linkage the cam releases the jaws, thereby permitting said spring means to suddenly snap the die against the cellophane strip supported against the anvil, The principal advantage of the use of a spring for closing the jaws is that by such means the depth of the scoring-of the cellophane'may be predetermined by ad- I Patented June 19, 1956 operating linkage and the die and anvil being longer in a direction transverse of the cellophane strip than the width of the strip. The anvil is cylindrical, and the die includes a plate having a series of teeth the apices of which lie in a plane which becomes tangent to the cylindrical anvil when the die approaches the latter, said teeth serving to cut striations into the cellophane strip and to Weaken the same in the vicinity of the contact of the cellophane with the anvil. When a cylindrical anvil is employed in cooperation with a toothed-die of the type just described, the scoring of the cellophane when the die approaches the anvil will be graduated in depth, i. e., the deepest scoring occurs along the tangent line of the plane of the die teeth with the cylindrical anvil, and the depth of scoring decreases outwardly in both directions from the tangent line. The advantage of such graduation in depth of scoring is that a central scoring of relatively deep penetration may be made in which central area the cellophane may be conveniently torn or parted, but shallower scoring marks will be made on each side of the central area to increase the total contact area of the teeth with the cellophane as the teeth penetrate deeper thereinto and thereby decrease the sensitivity of the adjustment of the spring which urges the jaws together, the tension of which spring determines the depth of scoring of the cellophane.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent during the following discussion of the drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a standard Universal Cellophane Machine showing my novel cellophane scorer attached. I

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the cellophane machine showing my novel scorer attached thereto.

Fig. 3 is a schematic drawing showing the strip cellophane passing over a tension idler and passing downwardly between the jaws of my scorer, and passing out through a group of rolls to the cut-off knives of the cellophane machine, which knives cut the cellophane strip into discrete, packaging lengths.

Fig. 4 is a front view of my cellophane scoring attachment per se.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the scorer with the cover plate removed to show the linkages, this view showing the jaws closed in solid lines, and open in dotted lines.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of my cellophane scoring device.

Fig. 7 is a section view taken along lines 7--7 of Fig. 6 and showing a strip of cellophane between the die and anvil.

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show a roll R of cellophane, the cellophane strip S passing upwardly over a tension idler I and passing downwardly around a pair of rollers P. The strip S then passes to the right, as shown in Fig. 3, and between the cut-off knives K of the cellophane machine M. Figs. 1 and 2 also show a chain drive D providing motive power to the cellophane machine M from a prime mover (not shown). Each of the members mentioned above is a part .of the standard cellophane machine and forms no part of the present invention.

Behind the chain drive D, I provide a cam C operatively associated with'a cam follower F supported on anarm A. A rod Q transmits the motion from the follower to a second arm B which,like the armA, is pivotally mounted to the frame of the cellophane machine M. A link L is'provided to transmit thernotion upwardly to the s 3 turnbuckle-type device T, which has right-handed and lefthanded threads thereon so that the length of the member T can be adjusted to provide the proper throw for driving the scorer attachment 1, which attachment is also mount-. ed on the frame of the cellophane machine M in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to Figs. 4 through 7, the scoring attachrncnt itself consists of a frame 1a having fixed thereto a bar 1b and having a pair of spaced guides 10, each guide being attached to the bar II) at one end and bolted to the frame 1a at the other end.

An anvil jaw support 2 is slidably received between the spaced guides 10 and may be locked in any longitudinal position with respect to the bar 112 by tightening the screws 14!. The jaw support 2 has a transversely disposed plate 2a secured thereto, which plate carries at one end a pivot 2b. The die jaw support 3 is journaled on said pivot 211 for the purpose hereinafter stated.

At the other end of the plate 2a is a linkage support 4, said linkage support having a portion 4a disposed parallel to the anvil jaw support 2 and to the bar 1b, these two supports being respectively located on either side of the bar 11) and being longitudinally slidable with respect thereto when the screws 1d are loosened. At the lower end of the linkage support 4 is a pivot 4b to which is connected the linkage 5. At about the center of the linkage 5 is connected a lug 6 which is driven by the turnbuckle T so that as the turnbuckle T moves longitudinally up and down the linkage 5 oscillates up and down about the pivot 4b. At the outer end of the linkage 5 is journaled a follower 7 which engages a cam portion 3a on the lower end of the die jaw support 3.

By reference to the dotted lines in Fig. 5 it will be apparent that as the turnbuckle T is moved up and down, the die jaw support 3 is caused to pivot back and forth with respect to the anvil jaw, thus causing the die 8 to move back and forth with respect to the anvil 9. The anvil jaw support 2 terminates at its upper end in a transversely disposed jaw member 2c, and the die jaw support 3 terminates at its upper end in another jaw 3d, said jaws 3a and 20 being mutually parallel.

At the upper end of the die jaw support 3 is a screw 3b which anchors one end of the spring 10, the other end of the spring being anchored on the L-shaped arm of the screw 11, Fig. 6, so that as the follower 7 moves downwardly on the cam portion 3a the die jaw support 3 rocks around the point 2b and stretches the spring 10 apart, the stretching being accomplished when the turnbuckle T is in the down position shown in dotted lines in Fig, 5. When the turnbuckle T returns to the uppermost position, the follower 7 travels into the recessed portion 3c of the die jaw support 3, thus releasing the separating force and permitting the spring 10 to snap the die 8 sharply toward the anvil 9, the cellophane strip S being disposed therebetween, as shown in Fig. 7.

The structure of the anvil, die and jaws is best illustrated in Fig. 7, the latter showing the shank of the anvil 9 fixed in the jaw 2c by spaced set screws 211 (see Fig. 6). Fig. 7 also shows the shank of the die 8 fixed in the jaw 3d by spaced set screws 3e. The anvil 9, Figs. 6 and 7, is cylindrical in shape except for its shank, and the die 8 comprises a plate having a toothed surface facing toward the anvil 9. The plane containing the apices of the teeth is parallel to the axis of the cylindrical anvil and becomes tangent thereto when the die 8 is brought into contact with the anvil 9.

I further provide a set of adjustment screws 2e and 3f, which press against the shanks of the anvil and of the die respectively so as to adjust the anvil and die in order that they exactly mesh along their line of contact and so that the striations across the cellophane strip 5 will be of uniform depth.

As a protective measure for the device and for the operators using same, I provide a linkage cover plate 12,-

4 Y. which plate has been removed in Fig. 5 so as to show the linkages but is shown in Figs. 4 and 6.

Operation My cellophane scoring attachment is intended to be mounted on the frame M of a standard cellophane machine which, in the present illustration, is a cigar-wrapping machine. This cigar-wrapping machine is driven by the drive chain D, which drive rotates the cam C and causes the rod Q to be abruptly oscillated upward once per revolution of the cam. This motion is transmitted to the turnbuckle T, which in turn drives the lug 6 to move the cam follower 7 abruptly upwardly once per revolution of the cam C. The strip of cellophane S passes downwardly between the jaws 2c and 3d and around the guide rollers P and between the knives K, the knives serving to cut off a length of cellophane once per revolution of the cam C. The linkages which operate the knives K on the machine once per revolution of the cam C are of no importance to the present invention and are therefore not shown in the drawings. The abrupt upward drive transmitted to theturnbuckle T and the lug 6 causes the follower 7 to pivot off of the cam portion 3a of the die jaw guide 3, thereby permitting the spring 10 to snap the jaw 3d closed in the direction of the jaw 20 and snap the die toward the anvil 9 to score the cellophane passing therebetween.

As best illustrated in Fig. 7, the cellophane strip S is free to retreat for a short distance around the cylindrical anvil 9 as the die 8 scores its surface. The illustration of this retreat in Fig. 7 is exaggerted, but serves to show how the maximum depth of scoring will be located along the line of tangency of the anvil and the plane of the apices of the die teeth. The cellophane strip can not retreat from the die teeth along this line; but on either side of the line, above and below in Fig. 7, the teeth will not even touch the cellophane strip until the latter is already scored to at least part of the maximum depth of cut along the line of tangency. This retreat of the strip permitted by the fact that the anvil 9 is cylindrical serves to cause the teeth to contact the strip in ever-increasing area of scoring as the depth of scoring of the strip increases. Thus the penetration of the teeth into the strip is progressively opposed to an increasing extent, and this fact makes the depth of cut less critically affected by the amount of tension of the spring 10, which fact helps the device to provide more uniform results.

The tension on the spring 10, as determined by adjust-- meat of the screw 11 and lock nut 11a, however still determines the depth of the scoring on the cellophane strip S, i. e., the greater the spring tension, the deeper the scoring. The depth of scoring of the cellophane is necessarily determined by the adjusted tension of the spring 10 because of the fact that the tension of the spring 10 is the only force tending to cause the jaw 3d to approach the jaw 20. When the anvil 9 and die 8 are properly aligned by the screws 20 and 3 respectively, the scoring will be of uniform depth all the way across the cellophane. It is important to note that the cellophane must not be scored completely through at any point, since such deep scoring would cause perforation of the wrapper and permit the latter to leak air so that the contents of the package, in this case a cigar, would be damaged.

In order to permit longitudinal adjustment of the position of the jaws with respect to the cellophane strip S, l have provided the screws 1a, Fig. 5, which screws, when loosened, loosen the guides 10 and permit longitudinal adjustment of the, position of the support members 4, 3 and 2 with respect to the frame 1a of my cellophane scoring attachment 1. Such adjustment determines the position of the annular line of striations around the finished package wrapper.

I do not limit my invention to the exact form shown in the drawings, for obviously changes may be made therein within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A scoring device for cutting a line of striations across strip material fed therepast by a prime mover, comprising a frame; a pair of jaws pivoted together and mounted on said frame; a cylindrical anvil fixed to one jaw and adapted to abut a die fixed to the other jaw, said die having a series of sharpened teeth adapted to cut striations into said strip and weaken the same along the line of contact of the teeth with the anvil, the plane of the cutting edges of said teeth being tangent to said cylindrical anvil when the jaws are closed; a spring urging said jaws toward each other; and means between said prime mover and said jaws normally maintaining said jaws spaced from each other but releasing the same to be snapped together by said spring at intervals, the strip passing between said jaws and being scored when the latter are snapped together.

2. In a device as set forth in claim 1, the mutually adjacent faces of said jaws each having a slotted recess; and said die and said anvil each having a shank adapted to fit into one of said recesses; and screw means through said jaws fixing said shanks in said recesses, whereby by adjustment of said screw means, said die and said anvil can be positioned to set their axes parallel.

3. In a device as set forth in claim 1, adjustable securing means for mounting said jaws on said frame, said securing means permitting adjustment of the position of said jaws longitudinally of said strip material.

4. A scoring device for cutting a line of striations across strip material fed therepast by a prime mover, comprising a frame; a pair of jaws pivoted together and mounted on said frame; a cylindrical anvil fixed to one jaw and adapted to abut a die fixed to the other jaw, said die having a series of sharpened teeth adapted to cut striations into said strip and weaken the same along the line of contact of the teeth with the anvil, the plane of the cutting edges of said teeth being tangent to said cylindrical anvil when the jaws are closed, a spring urging said jaws toward each other; and means between said prime mover and said jaws normally maintaining said jaws spaced from each other but releasing the same to be snapped together by said spring at intervals, the strip passing between said jaws and being scored when the latter are snapped together, and the tension of the spring being adjustable to control the depth of scoring of the strip material.

5. In a device as set forth in claim 4, the mutually adjacent faces of said jaws each having a slotted recess; and said die and said anvil each having a shank adapted to fit into one of said recesses; and screw means through said jaws fixing said shanks in said recesses, whereby by adjustment of said screw means, said die and said anvil can be positioned to set their axes parallel.

6. In a device as set forth in claim 4, adjustable securing means for mounting said jaws on said frame, said securing means permitting adjustment of the position of said jaws longitudinally of said strip material.

7. In a machine for scoring strip material passed therethrough by a feed mechanism, said machine having a pair of jaws between which said strip material passes and having means for periodically separating said jaws from each other and releasing said jaws, scoring means comprising a cylindrical anvil fixed to one jaw and adapted to abut a die fixed to the other jaw, said die having a series of sharpened teeth adapted to cut striations into said strip and weaken the same along the line of contact of the strip with the anvil, the plane of the cutting edges or" said teeth being tangent to said cylindrical anvil when the jaws are closed; and a spring fixed to one jaw and adjustably anchored to the other jaw, whereby when the jaws are separated and then released the spring will snap the jaws together, the depth of the scoring being determined by the spring tension.

8. in a device as set forth in claim 7, the mutually adjacent faces of said jaws each having a slotted recess; and said die and said anvil each having a shank adapted to fit into one of said recesses; and screw means through said jaws fixing said shanks in said recesses, whereby by adjustment of said screw means, said die and said anvil can be positioned to set their axes parallel.

9. In a machine for scoring strip material passed therethrough by a feed mechanism, said machine having a pair of jaws between which said strip material passes and having means for periodically separating said jaws from each other and snapping said jaws together, scoring means comprising a cylindrical anvil fixed to one jaw and adapted to abut a die fixed to the other jaw, said die having a series of sharpened teeth adapted to cut striations into said strip and weaken the same along the line of contact of the strip with the anvil, the plane of the cutting edges of said teeth being tangent to said cylindrical anvil when the jaws are closed.

10. In a device as set forth in claim 9, the mutually adjacent faces of said jaws each having a slotted recess; and said die and said anvil each having a shank adapted to fit into one of said recesses; and screw means through said jaws fixing said shanks in said recesses, whereby by adjustment of said screw means, said die and said anvil can be positioned to set their axes parallel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 19,320 Purdy Sept. 18, 1934 657,418 Inman Sept. 4, 1900 718,982 Cobb Jan. 27, 1903 1,501,162 Cumfer July 15, 1924 1,505,028 Karlson Aug. 12, 1924 1,666,533 Heck et al. Apr. 17, 1928 1,957,981 Shook May 8, 1934 2,011,614 Bustamente Aug. 20, 1935 2,220,256 Martindell Nov. 5, 1940 2,526,561 Keltner Oct. 17, 1950 2,540,694 Sieg Feb. 6, 1951 2,593,144 I-Iercik Apr. 15, 1952 

